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Whilst I have put this under “Best Kept Secrets – Darwin”, I was a little unsure.

There are elements of this store that makes me cringe. You know, borderline tacky.

Although, I have bought lovely glass birds from the Czech Republic for $36 and they are beautiful. They make some lovely glass handbags in many different sizes, although I could not bring myself to buy one. What do you do with them, unless you like to collect dust!

I have a girlfriend who loves the miniature shoes that they sell. They also have glass jewellery and from time to time they have some really beautiful pieces. I guess the shop is a bit of a mish mash of styles, but then it probably caters for everyone.

Worth a look, but tread with caution. Some of the colour choices are interesting.

This store in Parap for those under 5, is a huge success – it wouldn’t have survived this long, if it wasn’t.

Why has it survived, well there is a growing demographic of new money in this town, you know the children of Greek, Asian and other migrants and their offspring. Whilst those with this newly acquired wealth were brought up with parents that had more sense than money, it appears to be the opposite for those that choose to shop at this store.

For a start they sell Osk Kosh at a huge mark up. Funny thing is Big W is now selling the brand. But really, these trendy new breed of yummy mummies could not bear the thought of, let alone be seen buying something for their child to wear from a lowly department store like Big W, god forbid!

I often wander into Bambini Glam to have a look and marvel at the prices that they get away with charging. As I travel enough overseas, I buy all my sons clothes when travelling – less chance of turning up anywhere wearing the same shirt etc as anyone else. I can certainly tell you that even though I purchase “branded” items such as Ralph Lauren Polo for him – I certainly do not pay the prices they charge at Bambini Glam.

Bambini Glam has survived because it is the place to be seen purchasing something for your under 5 year old, whether it is a singlet or a whole suite of furniture to a tee pee tent!

Worth a look to gasp, but honestly, unless you have money to burn because you are bored, are a shopaholic, or are more interested in people think, I wouldn’t bother paying these prices.

After a morning of looking at various bits of furniture for our new deck, we felt a bit peckish. We drove into Ben’s Bakehouse for a nice hot pie, but they were closed. We suspect for the Supercars. When will people realise that there are some of us who are so not into the Supercars!

Anyway we decided to park at the Mitchell Centre and go to the Coffee Club. We have eaten here before, but one thing we notice is that the cafe is never clean. There is also an abundance of flies both inside and out which really turns me off eating. We chose not to eat at the Coffee Club, but wonder down the street to a cafe called Tonic.

This cafe was originally opened by friends of ours, Anna and Zoli and was called About Coffee. It was a great place to eat, was always crowded and had a great atmosphere. They have since left Darwin some time ago and the cafe became Tonic – it may have had another life before this one.

We walked in and took a table, sat down and order a flat white and a mocha. It was then we noticed how filthy the establishment was. We had already ordered and felt somewhat obliged to stay. The tables were grubby, some wiped down, others not. The chairs had all sorts of goo on them. One looked as though it had bits of butter on it. One of the chairs at our table looked like a cup of coffee was dropped near it, splattered all over the back of it, but was never cleaned.

Our breakfast came. We order just ordinary bacon and eggs and that was overcooked. It became clear that the staff were very keen to close the kitchen and go home. Nothing like being rushed through a meal. Why open at all!

While eating our breakfast we took in some other elements of the cafe such as the windows. It would be fair to say that the windows hadn’t been cleaned for at least six months and the amount of smudges and hand prints etc on the glass was quite off putting. In addition, the floor – if it had been swept let alone mopped in recent times, I would be surprised. I wouldn’t dare order anything from the cake cabinet, as the outside and inside of the cabinet hadn’t seen a spot of hot water or Spray ‘n Wipe!

This cafe had no reason to look the way it did apart from pure laziness. Located in Mitchell Street, the hub of Darwin city, you would expect some better standards. It is fair to say that we WILL NOT ever venture into this cafe again.

This is the third incarnation of this shop. My husband and I have quality pieces from this store. Jasmine and her daughter, Helene really captured the market with their store. My favourite life of this store was when it sold mainly furniture and was located on the opposite side, where Mrs Calvi is now.

All the same, we have still bought some great furniture for our home, I have expanded my extensive jewellery collection and bought some fabulous gifts.

There is always something in this store that would appeal to almost anybody. My only disappointment is that the jewellery has become a little bit tacky and is not of the quality or taste I would buy and there is way too many handbags. The store has been tidied up heaps and doesn’t appear so cluttered and you can actually see things that are for sale.

UPDATE: Jasmine is finally closing the store in the new year (2008). Everything is half price at the moment.